Article loading machine

ABSTRACT

A predetermined number of vertically stacked articles such as oatmeal cookies, for example, are manipulated into a horizontal disposition and deposited into a receptacle by means of a movable endless element having a feeder lug pivotally mounted thereon and held in normal relation thereto for engaging the vertically stacked articles while supported on a support means having a horizontal article supporting portion and a downwardly projecting article manipulating portion adjacent which a yieldably and adjustably mounted guide is disposed in spaced relation so that the stack of articles is pushed along the supporting surface and through the space between the downwardly projecting manipulating portion of the support means and the guide so as to deposit the articles in a receptacle disposed below the discharge end of the downwardly projecting portion of the support means, the feeder lug being swung about its pivot in a direction away from the loaded articles and their receptacle following completion of a loading operation.

United States Patent [19] Campbell, III

[ ARTICLE LOADING MACHINE [75] Inventor: William A. Campbell, Ill,Athens,

[73} Assignee: Quality Food Machinery Inc.,

Athens, Ga.

[22] Filed: Apr. (10, 1975 [2]] Appl. No.: 566,784

[52] US. Cl. 53/251; 53/154; 53/159; 198/170 [51] Int. Cl. B6513 5/06;1365B 35/50 [58] Field ofSearch 53/154, 159, 160, 166, 53/237, 246, 247,249, 250, 252; 198/23, 26, 170

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,935,827 5/1960 Burt 53/251X 3,244,209 4/1966 Farmer 198/170'X 3,323,281 6/1967 Ta1bot.... 53/2503,786,617 1/1974 Fluck 53/154 Primary ExaminerRobert L. SpruillAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Walter M. Rodgers; Walter A. Rodgers Dec. 23,1975 57 ABSTRACT A predetermined number of vertically stacked articlessuch as oatmeal cookies, for example, are manipulated into a horizontaldisposition and deposited into a receptacle by means of a movableendless element having a feeder lug pivotally mounted thereon and heldin normal relation thereto for engaging the vertically stacked articleswhile supported on a support means having a horizontal articlesupporting portion and a downwardly projecting article manipulatingportion adjacent which a yieldably and adjustably mounted guide isdisposed in spaced relation so that the stack of articles is pushedalong the supporting surface and through the space between thedownwardly projecting manipulating portion of the support means and theguide so as to deposit the articles in a receptacle disposed below thedischarge end of the downwardly projecting portion of the support means,the feeder lug being swung about its pivot in a direction away from theloaded articles and their receptacle following completion of a loadingoperation. I

13 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures US. Patent Dec.23, 1975 Sheet1of2 3,927,508

U.S. Patent Dec.23, 1975 Sheet20f2 3,927,508

F 0 Z: o 6

ON mm ARTICLE LOADING MACHINE are time consuming, inefficient and mayresult in contamination of the consumable items.

According to this invention, a predetermined number of articles stackedvertically on a support means are engaged and moved along a horizontalportion of the support means and then downwardly along a downwardlyprojecting article manipulating portion of the support means by a feederlug pivotally mounted on an endless element, a portion of whose path ofmovement closely parallels that of the horizontal and downwardlyprojecting portions of the support means so as to manipulate thevertical stack of items into a horizontal row and then to deposit therow into a receptacle. According to a feature of the invention a camfollower and cam are arranged so as to manipulate the lug in such manneras to swing it about its pivoted mounting and toward the associatedarticles to insure proper following action of the lug relative to thearticles as they approach a receptacle disposed underneath a downwardlymoving group of articles. The cam may be yieldably mounted so as toaccommodate limited swinging movement of the feeder lug in a directiongenerally opposite to its direction of feeding movement so as to preventdamage in the event the lug or articles should encounter an obstaclewhich impedes feeding movement. Upon completion of a loading operation,the feeder lug swings about its pivot in a direction away from theloaded receptacle so as to accommodate continuous operation of theendless element in synchronism with the other movable components of theapparatus. According to another feature of the invention a guide isyieldably and adjustably mounted in spaced relation to the downwardlyprojecting article manipulating portion of the support means to aid incontrolling manipulation of the stack of articles and to accommodatevariations in the sizes thereof and the receptacles which are loaded insequence are yieldably mounted on conveyor means to minimize possibledamage to the articles and to the machine components should amalfunction develop.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view ofan article stacking and receptacle loading apparatus which embodies theinvention and in which FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along theline designated 22 in FIG. 1.

With reference to FIG. 1, a series of articles such as are designated atA1,A2 and A3 are fed downwardly through chutes l, 2 and 3 onto a deadplate (not shown) and across which horizontally reciprocable pushers(not shown) operate in sequence to push a predetermined number ofarticles from each chute in sequence onto the horizon tally disposedportion S] of support means for the articles to form a stack designatedAIA2A3 in FIG. 2. More specifically a predetermined number of articlessuch as A1 are moved into the space between side plates 4a and 4b andare then moved by pusher means adjacent to and below chute 2. ArticlesA2 are there stacked atop articles Al and in like fashion the articlesA3 from chute 3 are stacked atop the articles A1 and A2. Thesetransversely reciprocal pushers are driven by motive means (not shown)in housing H1. Upon completion of horizontal pushing motion generallytoward the left as viewed in FIG. 1, a predetermined number of articlesare disposed between side plates 4a and 4b and atop the portion S1 ofthe support means and are designated AlA2A3.

For the purpose of imparting movement from left to right of the articlesmounted on horizontal article supporting portion S1 so as to stack thearticles into a single stack and so as to aid in manipulating the stack,an endless element in the form of chain 5 is mounted on driven sprocket6 and an idler sprocket disposed within housing 7 but not shown in thedrawings so that movement of the upper reach of endless element 5 asviewed in the drawings is from left to right as indicated by the arrows8. A plurality of feeder lugs 9 are pivotally mounted at 10 on endlesselement 5 and arranged to ride in the space between two rails which formthe horizontal part S1 of the support means. A cam follower 11 ismounted on the lower portion 9a of feeder lug 9 and arranged to ridealong a horizontal fixed cam surface 12 to hold the lug 10 in normalposition relative to support S1 so that rotation of sprocket 6 in aclockwise direction causes the upper reach of chain 5 to move from leftto right and in turn moves the lugs 9 and the stack of articles A1A2A3similarly. Chain 5 is driven by motive means disposed within housing H2.Preferably the lugs 9 are formed with an inner metallic rod about whicha plastic sheath is disposed.

The above stacking operation is known. It will be understood that onlyone chute such as l, 2 or 3 could be used in which event no stackingoperation would be necessary. Similarly an additional chute or set ofchutes could be added for high capacity systems in which event itprobably would be desirable to provide an additional pusher or pushersand associated apparatus.

Mechanism constructed according to this invention is arranged tomanipulate a vertical stack of articles such as A1A2A3 into a horizontalrow and then to deposit the row of articles into a receptacle R disposedbelow the discharge end D of the downwardly projecting articlemanipulating portion S2 of the support means. The structure designatedS2 comprises a pair of spaced rails between which the lugs 9 are moved.Cam follower 1 l rides on cam surface 13a of cam 13 during movement ofthe articles through the manipulating phase. As shown in FIG. 2 onearticle stack A1A2A3 is shown immediately afler it clears the dischargeend D of the downwardly projecting article manipulating portion S2 ofthe support means and while the horizontally disposed row of articles isbeing deposited into the receptacle R.

In order to control the manipulating operation in such manner as toprevent damaging collision between a feeder lug 9 and a receptacle R andparts associated therewith, cam 13 is provided with a cutaway surface13b so that cam follower 11 may ride off of cam surface 13a and allowthe lug 9 to pivot in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2about its pin 10. Each lug 9 may engage the abutment surface Clalongside the conveyor C and such engagement imparts counterclockwiseswinging movement to the lug about the pivot 10. By this means thefeeder lug 9 is swung away from the receptacle R and its contents andthe adjacent associated apparatus. Thus each feeder lug 9 according to afeature of this invention is swung from the position shown in FIG. 2wherein the lug is approximately normal to the adjacent part ofdownwardly projecting article manipulating support surface S2 to aposition approximately tangent to the adjacent part of that surface.

In order to insure that each lug 9 closely follows an article groupdownwardly along the lower part of support $2, the cam surface 13a isflared outwardly toward the articles along the lower part thereof as isindicated at 13c.

In order to avoid a damaging collision between each lug 9 and part C1the cam 13 is pivotally mounted on fixed pivot 13d and biased by tensionspring 13c toward engagement with stop 13!. Spring 13c is secured to cam13 at pin 13g and to pin 13h affixed to fixed plate l3i. Thus a lug 9which encounters an obstacle may swing counterclockwise in coordinationwith clockwise movement of cam 13 about pivot 13d.

One series of feeder lugs and one endless element and the associatedcams and surfaces 81, S2, 4a, 4b and 14 are shown. it will be understoodthat a plurality of systems such as that shown could be arrangedalongside each other thus to increase the capacity of the system.

For the purpose of controlling the manipulating movement of the stack ofarticles as the stack is moved along downwardly projecting articlemanipulating surface S2 and between the side guides 4a and 4b, a fixedguide 14 is mounted in spaced relation to the surface S2. Guide 14 isyieldably mounted on a pair of leaf springs 15 and 16 which are securedto the guide 14 by welding or by any other suitable means at 17 and 18.The opposite ends of springs 15 and 16 are rotatably mounted toadjustable rotatable elements 19 and 20 which are threadedly relatedwith brackets secured to the side walls 42 and 4b in any suitablemanner. Rotation of elements 19 and 20 varies the compression of springs15 and 16 as well as the initial position of guide 14 relative tomanipulating support surface S2. Ordinarily the space between guide 14and surface S2 is approximately equal to the height of the stack ofarticles A1,A2 and A3. Friction between a stack of articles and thesurfaces S2 and 14 and between adjacent con tacting articles insures theintegrity of the stack during manipulation.

Once a stacking and loading operation is completed, the receptacle R andits contents are moved from underneath the lower or discharge end D ofthe surfaces S2 and 14 by conveyor C driven by motive means in housingH3. Of course such movement brings a subsequent receptacle R intoposition for loading via a succeeding feeder lug 9 and the process isthus continuous, the speed of continuously moving endless chain 5 beingcoordinated with other elements to effect a continuous and smoothoperation. The receptacles after loading are transported on the conveyorC to suitable known wrapping equipment. Conveyor C comprises a pair ofendless elements such as chains 21 and 22 operable on a driven and adriving sprocket in known manner and to which opposite ends oflongitudinally spaced transversely disposed pins 23 are securedrespectively. The receptacles are fonned with upwardly flaring sidewalls opposite ones which engage a pair of spaced pins 23. Since thereceptacles are of semi-rigid construction they are yieldably supportedon pins 23 for limited vertical up and down movement. Plate 24 is alsoyieldably mounted to enhance up and down movement of 4 receptacles R ifneed be. Each receptacle R may contain one or more rows of articles asmay be desired.

Of course it will be understood that for certain applications of theinvention, trays might not be used and the articles could simply betransported on the conveyor to suitable wrapping equipment but withoutusing receptacles or trays.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

I claim:

1. A machine for manipulating a vertical stack of articles intohorizontal disposition said machine comprising support means having agenerally horizontal article supporting portion and a downwardlyprojecting article manipulating portion, a flexible endless elementarranged to move along a path a part of which is generally parallel toand adjacent said article manipulating portion of said support means, afeeder lug pivotally mounted on said endless element, a cam followermounted on said feeder lug, a cam having a cam surface adjacent saidendless element and generally parallel to the article manipulatingportion of said support means, said cam surface being engageable by saidcam follower so as to hold said feeder lug approximately normal to saidarticle manipulating portion of said support means for engaging andmoving the articles therealong, said cam being configured to allow saidfeeder lug to swing about its pivotal mounting from its normaldisposition relative to said manipulating portion of said support meansto a position approximately tangent thereto and means yieldably mountingsaid cam so as to accomodate predetermined swinging movement of said lugabout its pivotal mounting which is in a direction generally opposite toarticle feeding movement thereof.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said feeder lug is disposed ina substantially horizontal position when swinging movement of saidfeeder lug about its pivotal mounting is initiated.

3. A machine according to claim 1 wherein swinging movement of saidfeeder lug about its pivotal mounting causes the part of said lug whichengages and moves the articles to move in a direction generally oppositeto the general direction of movement of the adjacent part of saidendless element.

4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the initially engaged part ofsaid cam surface closely parallels said downwardly projecting portion ofsaid article manipulating portion of said support means and wherein thesubsequently engaged part of said cam surface diverges therefrom in adirection toward the articles to impart article following swingingmovement to said lug.

5. A machine according to claim 1 wherein said cam is biased towardengagement with a fixed stop which fixes the initially engaged part ofsaid cam surface in approximately parallel relation to the initiallyengaged part of said article manipulating portion of said support means.

6. A machine according to claim 1 wherein a guide is disposed in spacedrelation to said article manipulating portion of said support means andgenerally parallel thereto for defining a manipulative path of movementof the articles therebetween.

7. A machine according to claim 6 wherein said guide is yieldablymounted and biased toward engagement with the articles.

8. A machine according to claim 7 wherein the magnitude of bias impartedto said guide and the position of said guide relative to said articlemanipulating portion of said support means are adjustable.

9. A machine according to claim 8 wherein adjustment of the biasimparted to said guide and of the position thereof are effected by acommon adjustment means.

10. A machine according to claim 1 wherein an outfeed conveyor isdisposed below the article manipulating portion of said support meansfor transporting the row of articles away from said machine.

11. A machine according to claim 10 wherein a receptacle is disposed onsaid outfeed conveyor and immediately below said manipulating portion ofsaid support means for receiving a row of articles.

12. A machine according to claim 11 wherein said outfeed conveyorcomprises a pair of transversely spaced endless elements on which aplurality of transverse longitudinally spaced support rods are mountedand wherein said receptacle comprises yieldable outwardly tapered sidewalls opposite ones of which are engageable with adjacent support rodsintermediate the upper and lower edges thereof so as to provide aresilient support for said receptacle.

13. A machine according to claim 1 wherein a cam having a cam surface isarranged with its cam surface adjacent and generally parallel to thehorizontal article supporting portion of said support for cooperationwith said cam follower.

ssess

1. A machine for manipulating a vertical stack of articles intohorizontal disposition said machine comprising support means having agenerally horizontal article supporting portion and a downwardlyprojecting article manipulating portion, a flexible endless elementarranged to move along a path a part of which is generally parallel toand adjacent said article manipulating portion of said support means, afeeder lug pivotally mounted on said endless element, a cam followermounted on said feeder lug, a cam having a cam surface adjacent saidendless element and generally parallel to the article manipulatingportion of said support means, said cam surface being engageable by saidcam follower so as to hold said feeder lug approximately normal to saidarticle manipulating portion of said support means for engaging andmoving the articles therealong, said cam being configured to allow saidfeeder lug to swing about its pivotal mounting from its normaldisposition relative to said manipulating portion of said support meansto a position approximately tangent thereto and means yieldably mountingsaid cam so as to accomodate predetermined swinging movement of said lugabout its pivotal mounting which is in a direction generally opposite toarticle feeding movement thereof.
 2. A machine according to claim 1wherein said feeder lug is disposed in a substantially horizontalposition when swinging movement of said feeder lug about its pivotalmounting is initiated.
 3. A machine according to claim 1 whereinswinging movement of said feeder lug about its pivotal mounting causesthe part of said lug which engages and moves the articles to move in adirection generally opposite to the general direction of movement of theadjacent part of said endless element.
 4. A machine according to claim 1wherein the initially engaged part of said cam surface closely parallelssaid downwardly projecting portion of said article manipulating portionof said support means and wherein the subsequently engaged part of saidcam surface diverges therefrom in a direction toward the articles toimpart article following swinging movement to said lug.
 5. A machineaccording to claim 1 wherein said cam is biased toward engagement with afixed stop which fixes the initially engaged part of said cam surface inapproximately parallel relation to the initially engaged part of saidarticle manipulating portion of said support means.
 6. A machineaccording to claim 1 wherein a guide is disposed in spaced relation tosaid article manipulating portion of said support means and generallyparallel thereto for defining a manipulative path of movement of thearticles therebetween.
 7. A machine according to claim 6 wherein saidguide is yieldably mounted and biased toward engagement with thearticles.
 8. A machine according to claim 7 wherein the magnitude ofbias imparted to said guide and the position of said guide relative tosaid article manipulating portion of said support means are adjustable.9. A machine according to claim 8 wherein adjustment of the biasimparted to said guide and of the position thereof are effected by acommon adjustment means.
 10. A machine according to claim 1 wherein anoutfeed conveyor is disposed below the article manipulating portion ofsaid support means for transporting the row of articles away from saidmachine.
 11. A machine according to claim 10 wherein a receptacle isdisposed on said outfeed cOnveyor and immediately below saidmanipulating portion of said support means for receiving a row ofarticles.
 12. A machine according to claim 11 wherein said outfeedconveyor comprises a pair of transversely spaced endless elements onwhich a plurality of transverse longitudinally spaced support rods aremounted and wherein said receptacle comprises yieldable outwardlytapered side walls opposite ones of which are engageable with adjacentsupport rods intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof so as toprovide a resilient support for said receptacle.
 13. A machine accordingto claim 1 wherein a cam having a cam surface is arranged with its camsurface adjacent and generally parallel to the horizontal articlesupporting portion of said support for cooperation with said camfollower.